FLIR Systems (FLIR)

Our inability to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights and avoid infringing the rights of others could harm our competitive position and our business

Our ability to compete successfully and achieve future revenue growth depends, in part, on our ability to protect our proprietary technology and operate without infringing the rights of others. To accomplish this, we

15

Table of Contents

rely on a combination of patent, trademark and trade secret laws, confidentiality agreements and contractual provisions to protect our proprietary rights. Many of our proprietary rights are held in confidence as trade secrets and are not covered by patents, making them more difficult to protect. Although we currently hold United States patents covering certain aspects of our technologies and products, and we are actively pursuing additional patents, we cannot be certain that we will obtain additional patents or trademarks on our technology, products and trade names. Furthermore, we cannot be certain that our patents or trademarks will not be challenged or circumvented by our competitors or that measures taken by us to protect our proprietary rights will adequately deter their misappropriation or disclosure. Any failure by us to meaningfully protect our intellectual property could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, because intellectual property does not necessarily prevent our competitors from entering the thermal imaging industry, there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain our competitive advantage or that our competitors will not develop capabilities equal or superior to ours.

Litigation over patents and other intellectual property is common in our industry. We cannot be sure that we will not be the subject of patent or other litigation in the future or that we will not assert claims in litigation to protect our intellectual property. Lawsuits defending or prosecuting intellectual property claims and related legal and administrative proceedings could result in substantial expense to us and significant diversion of effort of our personnel. An adverse determination in a patent suit or in any other proceeding to which we may be a party could subject us to significant liabilities, result in the loss of intellectual property rights we claim or impact our competitive position. Additionally, an adverse determination could require us to seek licenses from third parties. If such licenses are not available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our inability to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights and avoid infringing the rights of others could harm our competitive position and our business

Our ability to compete successfully and achieve future revenue growth depends, in part, on our ability to protect our proprietary technology and operate without infringing the rights of others. To accomplish this, we

15

Table of Contents

rely on a combination of patent, trademark and trade secret laws, confidentiality agreements and contractual provisions to protect our proprietary rights. Many of our proprietary rights are held in confidence as trade secrets and are not covered by patents, making them more difficult to protect. Although we currently hold United States patents covering certain aspects of our technologies and products, and we are actively pursuing additional patents, we cannot be certain that we will obtain additional patents or trademarks on our technology, products and trade names. Furthermore, we cannot be certain that our patents or trademarks will not be challenged or circumvented by our competitors or that measures taken by us to protect our proprietary rights will adequately deter their misappropriation or disclosure. Any failure by us to meaningfully protect our intellectual property could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, because intellectual property does not necessarily prevent our competitors from entering the thermal imaging industry, there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain our competitive advantage or that our competitors will not develop capabilities equal or superior to ours.

Litigation over patents and other intellectual property is common in our industry. We cannot be sure that we will not be the subject of patent or other litigation in the future or that we will not assert claims in litigation to protect our intellectual property. Lawsuits defending or prosecuting intellectual property claims and related legal and administrative proceedings could result in substantial expense to us and significant diversion of effort of our personnel. An adverse determination in a patent suit or in any other proceeding to which we may be a party could subject us to significant liabilities, result in the loss of intellectual property rights we claim or impact our competitive position. Additionally, an adverse determination could require us to seek licenses from third parties. If such licenses are not available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our inability to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights and avoid infringing the rights of others could
harm our competitive position and our business

Our ability to compete successfully and achieve future revenue growth depends, in part,
on our ability to protect our proprietary technology and operate without infringing the rights of others. To accomplish this, we

15

Table of Contents

rely on a combination of patent, trademark and trade secret laws, confidentiality agreements and contractual provisions to protect our proprietary rights.
Many of our proprietary rights are held in confidence as trade secrets and are not covered by patents, making them more difficult to protect. Although we currently hold United States patents covering certain aspects of our technologies and products,
and we are actively pursuing additional patents, we cannot be certain that we will obtain additional patents or trademarks on our technology, products and trade names. Furthermore, we cannot be certain that our patents or trademarks will not be
challenged or circumvented by our competitors or that measures taken by us to protect our proprietary rights will adequately deter their misappropriation or disclosure. Any failure by us to meaningfully protect our intellectual property could have a
material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, because intellectual property does not necessarily prevent our competitors from entering the thermal imaging industry, there can be no assurance that
we will be able to maintain our competitive advantage or that our competitors will not develop capabilities equal or superior to ours.

SIZE="2">Litigation over patents and other intellectual property is common in our industry. We cannot be sure that we will not be the subject of patent or other litigation in the future or that we will not assert claims in litigation to protect our
intellectual property. Lawsuits defending or prosecuting intellectual property claims and related legal and administrative proceedings could result in substantial expense to us and significant diversion of effort of our personnel. An adverse
determination in a patent suit or in any other proceeding to which we may be a party could subject us to significant liabilities, result in the loss of intellectual property rights we claim or impact our competitive position. Additionally, an
adverse determination could require us to seek licenses from third parties. If such licenses are not available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our inability to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights and avoid infringing the rights of others could
harm our competitive position and our business

Our ability to compete successfully and achieve future revenue growth depends, in part,
on our ability to protect our proprietary technology and operate without infringing the rights of others. To accomplish this, we

15

Table of Contents

rely on a combination of patent, trademark and trade secret laws, confidentiality agreements and contractual provisions to protect our proprietary rights.
Many of our proprietary rights are held in confidence as trade secrets and are not covered by patents, making them more difficult to protect. Although we currently hold United States patents covering certain aspects of our technologies and products,
and we are actively pursuing additional patents, we cannot be certain that we will obtain additional patents or trademarks on our technology, products and trade names. Furthermore, we cannot be certain that our patents or trademarks will not be
challenged or circumvented by our competitors or that measures taken by us to protect our proprietary rights will adequately deter their misappropriation or disclosure. Any failure by us to meaningfully protect our intellectual property could have a
material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, because intellectual property does not necessarily prevent our competitors from entering the thermal imaging industry, there can be no assurance that
we will be able to maintain our competitive advantage or that our competitors will not develop capabilities equal or superior to ours.

SIZE="2">Litigation over patents and other intellectual property is common in our industry. We cannot be sure that we will not be the subject of patent or other litigation in the future or that we will not assert claims in litigation to protect our
intellectual property. Lawsuits defending or prosecuting intellectual property claims and related legal and administrative proceedings could result in substantial expense to us and significant diversion of effort of our personnel. An adverse
determination in a patent suit or in any other proceeding to which we may be a party could subject us to significant liabilities, result in the loss of intellectual property rights we claim or impact our competitive position. Additionally, an
adverse determination could require us to seek licenses from third parties. If such licenses are not available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our inability to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights and avoid infringing the rights of others could harm our competitive position and our business

Our ability to compete successfully and achieve future revenue growth depends, in part, on our ability to protect our proprietary technology and operate without infringing the rights of others. To accomplish this, we rely on a combination of patent, trademark and trade secret laws, confidentiality agreements and contractual provisions to protect our proprietary rights. Many of our proprietary rights are held in confidence as trade secrets and are not covered by patents, making them more difficult to protect. Although we currently hold US patents covering certain aspects of our technologies and products, and we are actively pursuing additional patents, we cannot be certain that we will obtain additional patents or trademarks on our technology, products and trade names. Furthermore, we cannot be certain that our patents or trademarks will not be challenged or circumvented by our competitors or that measures taken by us to protect our proprietary rights will adequately deter their misappropriation or disclosure. Any failure by us to meaningfully protect our intellectual property could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, because intellectual property does not necessarily prevent our competitors from entering the thermal imaging industry, there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain our competitive advantage or that our competitors will not develop capabilities equal or superior to ours.

Litigation over patents and other intellectual property is common in our industry. We cannot be sure that we will not be the subject of patent or other litigation in the future or that we will not assert claims in litigation to protect our intellectual property. Lawsuits defending or prosecuting intellectual property claims and related legal and administrative proceedings could result in substantial expense to us and significant diversion of effort of our personnel. An adverse determination in a patent suit or in any other proceeding to which we may be a party could subject us to significant liabilities, result in the loss of intellectual property rights we claim or impact our competitive position. Additionally, an adverse determination could require us to seek licenses from third parties. If such licenses are not available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our inability to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights and avoid infringing the rights of others could harm our competitive position and our business.

Our ability to compete successfully and achieve future revenue growth depends, in part, on our ability to protect our proprietary technology and operate without infringing the rights of others. To accomplish this, we rely on a combination of patent, trademark and trade secret laws, confidentiality agreements and contractual provisions to protect our proprietary rights. Many of our proprietary rights are held in confidence as trade secrets and are not covered by patents, making them more difficult to protect. Although we currently hold United States patents covering certain aspects of our technologies and products, and we are actively pursuing additional patents, we cannot be certain that we will obtain additional patents or trademarks on our technology, products and trade names. Furthermore, we cannot be certain that our patents or trademarks will not be challenged or circumvented by competitors. Likewise, we cannot be certain that measures taken to protect our proprietary rights will adequately deter their misappropriation or disclosure. Any failure by us to meaningfully protect our intellectual property could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, because intellectual property does not necessarily represent a barrier to entry into the thermal imaging industry, there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain our competitive advantage or that competitors will not develop capabilities equal or superior to ours.

Litigation over patents and other intellectual property is common in our industry. We cannot be sure that we will not be the subject of patent or other litigation in the future. Defending intellectual property lawsuits and related legal and administrative proceedings could result in substantial expense to us and significant diversion of effort of our personnel. An adverse determination in a patent suit or in any other proceeding to which we may be a party could subject us to significant liabilities. Additionally, an adverse determination could require us to seek licenses from third parties. If licenses were not available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, our business could be harmed.

Our inability to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights and avoid infringing the rights of others could harm our competitive position and our business.

Our ability to compete successfully and achieve future revenue growth depends, in part, on our ability to protect our proprietary technology and operate without infringing the rights of others. To accomplish this, we rely on a combination of patent, trademark and trade secret laws, confidentiality agreements and contractual provisions to protect our proprietary rights. Most of our proprietary rights are held in confidence as trade secrets and are not covered by patents, making them more difficult to protect. Although we currently hold United States patents covering certain aspects of our technologies and products, and we are actively pursuing additional patents, we cannot be certain that we will obtain additional patents or trademarks on our technology, products and trade names. Furthermore, we cannot be certain that our patents or trademarks will not be challenged or circumvented by competitors. Likewise, we cannot be certain that measures taken to protect our proprietary rights will adequately deter their misappropriation or disclosure. Any failure by us to meaningfully protect our intellectual property could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, because intellectual property does not necessarily represent a barrier to entry into the thermal imaging industry, there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain our competitive advantage or that competitors will not develop capabilities equal or superior to ours.

Litigation over patents and other intellectual property is common in our industry. We cannot be sure that we will not be the subject of patent or other litigation in the future. Defending intellectual property lawsuits and related legal and administrative proceedings could result in substantial expense to us and significant diversion of effort of our personnel. An adverse determination in a patent suit or in any other proceeding to which we may be a party could subject us to significant liabilities. An adverse determination could require us to seek licenses from third parties. If licenses were not available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, our business could be harmed.

Our inability to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights and avoid infringing the rights of others could harm our competitive position and our business.

Our ability to compete successfully and achieve future revenue growth depends, in part, on our ability to protect our proprietary technology and operate without infringing the rights of others. To accomplish this, we rely on a combination of patent, trademark and trade secret laws, confidentiality agreements and contractual provisions to protect our proprietary rights. Most of our proprietary rights are held in confidence as trade secrets and are not covered by patents, making them more difficult to protect. Although we currently hold United States patents covering certain aspects of our technologies and products, we cannot be certain that we will obtain additional patents or trademarks on our technology, products and trade names. Furthermore, we cannot be certain that our patents or trademarks will not be challenged or circumvented by competitors. Likewise, we cannot be certain that measures taken to protect our proprietary rights will adequately deter their misappropriation or disclosure. Any failure by us to meaningfully protect our intellectual property could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, because intellectual property does not necessarily represent a barrier to entry into the thermal imaging industry, there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain our competitive advantage or that competitors will not develop capabilities equal or superior to ours.

Litigation over patents and other intellectual property is common in our industry. We cannot be sure that we will not be the subject of patent or other litigation in the future. Defending intellectual property lawsuits and related legal and administrative proceedings could result in substantial expense to us and significant diversion of effort of our personnel. An adverse determination in a patent suit or in any other proceeding to which we may be a party could subject us to significant liabilities. An adverse determination could require us to seek licenses from third parties. If licenses were not available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, our business could be harmed.